they've got a combined 16 stops in eight states before heading home. president obama kicks off in new hampshire, then florida, ohio, and a final stop in colorado just after midnight. and here is where mitt romney is going. he starts in des moines, iowa, ohio, pennsylvania, and virginia. you can count on us to be there every step of the way. mitt romney ended his day yesterday in colorado at the rally in englewood. he had an admission about day one of a romney presidency. >> when i'm elected, the economy and american jobs will still be stagnant, of course, but i won't waste any time complaining about my predecessor. from day one i'm going to go to work to help americans get back to work. >> another big named endorsement for the president. he's now got the support of israel's oldest newspaper. they say obama is good for israel. quote, the outcome of the elections will be determined by the voter's decision as to which

of the two candidates are better for america. but if any of them are vacillating whether hob has been a good president for israel, the answer is question. kind words by a big paper but the endorsement is expected to have little effect on the voters here. >> the u.s. and in president obama's sprint to head a toss-up uks he made a stop in wisconsin where he urged supporters to stick with him even if they sometimes have a difference of opinion. >> you may not agree with every decision i've made. sometimes you may have been frustrated by the pace of change, but you know where i stand. you know what i believe. you know i mean what i say. and i say what i mean. the poll shows him with a seven-point lead other romney there. a new abc news "washington

post" poll came out just after midnight. you see it there. it shows likely voters evenly split 48%-48%. if voters were asked if they had a favorable impression of the candidates, numbers are still neck and neck. 54% with president obama, 53% with obama. new jersey is allowing voters to i'm and fax in bat locals. the use of poll monitors is growing. but the new rules are also creating confusion over the role and responsibilities those monitors actually have. cnn's crime and justice correspondent joe johns explains. >> reporter: long lines in south florida and in cincinnati, ohio, as early voting comes to a close, and those aren't the only crowd this highly contested election has contracted. >> 10,000 grass routes elections and volunteers. >> everywhere. they're going to be everywhere.

they've trained people in 50 states to legally poll watch. >> lawyer and poll watch of all political stripes descending on ohio and across the country in search of any issues that need to be challenged. >> we're looking for long lines that might be the result of machines breaking down, poll workers that might be asking the wrong question, asking for i.d. when they should. be. >> groups like the left leaning protection election have been training for weeks so they're ready to respond to any problems at the polls in realtime. >> with all the changes nationally in the voting laws, i think we're prepared for there to be a significant amount of confusion on election day. >> but controversy over how they do their job. poll watching has become part of the business. what do you think of the election protection people. >> look. they have problems. >> reporter: christian adams now represents true the vote. a tea party-affiliated vote.

>> it stands with integrity. follow the law, period. >> reporter: but true the vote has real critics of their own to the left. >> true to vote has been stay it is likely challenged the voting rights of legitimate voters we must address anybody who tries to deny anybody that right to vote and i consider it criminal. i consider it unpatriotic. and i think -- and highly offensive. >> reporter: a claimed a amount duh not take likely. >> they're liars. they're bearing false witness against law-abiding citizens who are doing no more than observing the process, and they should be ashamed of themselves. >> reporter: whatever the election watchers find it may ultimatably up to super lawyers like ted olson whether to go to court. olson, a romney adviser, led republicans to victory from a supreme court battle between george w. bush and al gore in 2000. >> i'm clearing my calendar just in case i need to be ready for the next five weeks. >> reporter: he says if elections officials want to avoid litigation, they shoumtd change direction in the middle

of the game. >> if you follow the rules that were in place on election day with respect to counting the ballots, then the presumptive outcome will be respected when the electoral college votes are counted. >> but the truth is there could be other changes to the rules especially as states affected by the superstorm get ready for the election. joe johns, cnn, washington. and tonight a program note. cnn's anderson cooper and wolf blitzer are taking a closer look at where the candidates are focusing their attention and whether the battleground states might hold any surprises. "america's choice 2012:countdown to election day" air force tonight at 8:00 eastern. people in many of the smaller coastal towns devastated by superstorm sandy depend on summer tourism to survive, but the storm ripped apart boardwalks, flooded businesses, and destroyed many homes, and all the sand from the beautiful

beachfront was washed away or even mixed with nails and debris. and now people are focused on rebuilding. cnn's jim clancy is in belmar, new jersey, an area that was flooded a few days ago. jim, good morning. are you noticing any progress? i mean is the power back on there? >> reporter: you know, belmar -- come on, randi. this is a place that you know very, very well, up close and personal. and as you can see, the trucks are here, there's the mounds of sand. this, of course, for our viewers, there used to be more than a mile of beautiful boardwalk here. this is really one of the jewels of the entire jersey shore. it was ripped out by the force of hurricane sandy and now because it's a bowl here they're having to pump water from inland lakes to get it back into the sea, drain it, allow the residents to come back to their homes. they still don't have power yet, ran randi. they don't think they'll have it until next friday.

people are really cold out there. they're shivering a little bit. but at the same time, they're thankful for what they have. they're having a mass today to honor the first responders who risked so much to ensure the safety of everyone, not only here in belmar, but right up and down the entire jersey shore. i want to bring in somebody, though torque talk about the issue you were talking about with joe johns. jennifer nicolette is here. >> what's funny, we were full force for the election for about a week ago, a come months, going door to door for the election. now we're going door to door. not until yesterday do we realize the election is tomorrow, so we've been prepared to bring in -- well, we did. we brought in the voting booths. they're being held in our borough hall for all districts. and they're even allowing people

to i'm their votes in. we have a lot of residents out of town. they're able do that. hopefully it will be like any other normal day where people vote and go back to their normal lives as far as -- >> you're going be going to the mass. >> absolutely, absolutely. we're going to the mass to honor our first responders, the bishop will be there, and from what it seems like, anybody that's in town that's able to get there will attend. it's very important. >> jennifer, thank you so much for joining us. good luck in the election. she's a candidate as well but she's not as worried about that. >> i was up there this week along with you. you can really see the town pulling together but a lot of people were wondering, you know, what are they going to do about voting. so how are they getting word out? >> i saw some councilmen going around in canoes and kayaks. >> reporter: as jennifer was telling us, they can use fax, i'm. i don't know exactly how that's

going to work, but at least they're going to try. >> yeah. >> reporter: back to you. >> jim clancy for us in belmar. jim, thank you. feminist icon gloria steinem says it could be lost tuesday night. the stakes and the victims next. but first as we head down the home stretch of the presidential campaign, we wanted to look at the closest races in election history. we're not talking vote counts or parjs. just electoral votes since that's what decides presidential elections. here's our top four list. george w. bush and al gore. the closest race. the disputed florida vote went bush's way giving him the win by just five electoral votes. numb beer three, it's three. 1796 john adams became our second president with a narrow win over thomas jefferson. adams served two terms before jefferson became the third president. after the break, the two closest races. the best light. outdoors, or in.

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the writer's desktop and the coordinator's phone are working on a joke with local color. the secure cloud just received a revised intro from the strategist's tablet. and while i make my way into the venue, the candidate will be rehearsing off of his phone. [ candidate ] and thanks to every young face i see out there. [ woman ] his phone is one of his biggest supporters. [ female announcer ] with cisco at the center... working together has never worked so well. [ male announcer ] can a car be built around a state of mind? ♪ announcing the all-new 2013 malibu from chevrolet. ♪ with a remarkable new interior featuring the available chevrolet mylink infotainment system. this is where sophisticated styling begins. and where it ends? that's up to you. it's here -- the greatest malibu ever. ♪

presidential countdown of all time. number two, rutherford b. hayes beat tillman in 1776. still actually won the popular vote there by more than 250,000 votes. and finally the closest race of all -- drum roll, please -- it wasn't that close really. it was 1824, jackson beat adams. it went to a vote by the house of representatives. adams won that vote and became the sixth president of the united states. jackson crushed him, though, four years later. a bit of history for you this morning. legendary american feminist and author gloria steinem is leading the fight to stop the war on women. that fight is also the cover

story of ""ms." magazine. >> what it means is first controlling reproduction. you know, we're accustomed in this country to talking about production. we forget the controlling reproduction is even more important. so it would put women's bodies under literally government control with the human life amendment. it's also about refusing to support equal pay, which is quite astounding because i don't remember any presidential candidate who at least verbally has not agreed to support equal pay. and it is also interfering with such things as the violence against women act, even though in actually fact, more women have been killed by their husbands or boyfriends since 9/11 than americans were killed in 9/11, iraq, and afghanistan

combined, and yet they have refused to extend the violence against women act. and so -- >> um -- >> yeah. >> i wanted to show you this poll from early teller this month of the most important issue for women in this election, and at the very top if you can see it there. it's abortion. 39% with jobs and health care far below. you've been traveling across the country. does that surprise you? i mean is that in line with what you're hearing from women as far as their concerns? >> yeah. no, it is in line. that's why i put controlling reproduction first because the human life amendment, which is supported by romney and ryan and the platform, would declare the fertilized egg to be a person, and that means that women's bodies throughout our child-bearing years would be under government control. but also remember that one in three american women has needed an abortion at some time in her life before she's 45. most of those women who have needed abortions are already

mothers. so they absolutely understand that it's important that every child is born, loved, and wanted. >> and you can check out the rest of that interview and more of my guest on my blog. just log on to cnn.com/randi. have you heard about the controversial film "s.e.a.l. team 6? "it premieres tonight on national geo. critics say it's coming right before the election and raising eyebrows. harvey weinstein, a big time donor. it's about history. well, next hour we will take a deeper look at the controversy surrounding "s.e.a.l. team 6." looking to shift the balance of power rchs hope to make major gains in the senate but massive

missteps could hinder those plans. we'll take a look. with three strains of good bacteria. approved! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'.

big races coming up in the house and senate. the entire house and one-third of the senate seats are inrandi to tackle big issues coming up, like how to reach a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff? a series of tax increases and spending cuts next year that could threaten the economic recovery. all that means is that the balance of power matters. >> reporter: in the republican wave of 2010 democrats lost control of the house, but they kept the senate.

democrats control 53 seats in the 100 member chamber. republicans need four to take over if president obama wins re-election. three if governor mitt romney wins. since vice president paul ryan would serve as the tiebreaker. 33 seats are up for grabs. >> it's possible, although it's looking increasingly unlikely that republicans will be able to gain control of the senate. >> why is that? for one thing there's main republican olympia snowe's unexpected retirement from a body she described as hopelessly partisan. republicans will likely lose that seat. then there are the self-inflicted wounds like this comment from republican todd akin who is running in missouri. >> if it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. >> reporter: those words sparked an outcry, putting a victory over he democrat claire mccaskill, a top gop target in doubt. >> that was the gimmee. he said those comments, that race is very much in play.

>> reporter: then there was this remark by indiana republican richard murdock, explaining why he opposes abortion even in cases of rape. >> life is a gift from god, and i think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape that it is something that god intended to happen. >> reporter: gop operatives say that statement while inarticulate is in line with the feelings of many conservative voters. still, it may have opened the door for his democratic opponent joe donnelley. >> now, again, a misstatement, a misstep, and suddenly his election is really in doubt. >> reporter: it's too close to call in massachusetts where liberal favorite elizabeth warren, the former obama administration consumer advocate, is trying to win back the seat republican scott brown won in 2010. polls show warren up by four. polls many virginia have the democrat, former governor tim kaine leading george allen by just two points. with races all tied up many places like nevada, arizona, montana, north dakota,

wisconsin, and connecticut, it could be a nail-biter on tuesday night. now, democrats say they are cautiously optimistic about their prospects. while a republican official said recently romney has to win for us to win the senate. radi. >> thank you very much. now back to the presidential race. it is a full court press for the swing states. next hour, we'll take you to the heart of the smallest battleground and see how just a few electoral votes can have a very big impact. i gave birth to my daughter on may 18th, five days later, i had a massive heart attack. bayer aspirin was the first thing the emts gave me. now, i'm on a bayer aspirin regimen. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. [ woman ] learn from my story.

i just served my mother-in-law your chicken noodle soup but she loved it so much... i told her it was homemade. everyone tells a little white lie now and then. but now she wants my recipe [ clears his throat ] [ softly ] she's right behind me isn't she? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. groolg surgeries, a month-long coma and nearly losing her ability to sing, chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta shares the story of a 27-year-old who found a new voice after two double lung transplants. ♪ >> reporter: for charity tillman to sing is to live. ♪ >> reporter: she's performed on some of the most prestigious stages m united states and europe. >> singing gave me something that i could throw myself into that i loved and that i could do

and there was a prospect of losing that and losing my life. >> reporter: that's because in 2004 charity was diagnosed with a rare lung disease. it's called pulmonary hyper tension. eventually her lungs became too weak. >> i was is it the hospital. i still didn't think i needed the transplant until one night my doctor came in and he said charity you can't wait anymore. you're going to die if you don't get a transplant now. >> reporter: the operation was grueling. recovery was even harder. she was in a coma for more than a month. rehab for several more. eventually she made it back to the stage sharing her voice with the world at lincoln center. ♪ >> i went on stage, and i sang, and it was everything that i

imaged. >> the euphoria didn't last. >> i didn't to reject my lungs just a little less than two years ago. >> reporter: her doctors said finding a second lung donor would be even harder. fortunately, charity got that second chance. >> i knew that there was no way that i got those lungs if they they weren't going to make me sick. >> reporter: and music they made. charity is able to sing again, and on this day she's performing for a very special audience. it's her doctors and fellow transplant patients at the cleveland clinic. ♪ >> it's such a honor to sing for people that may have the same challenges that i have. >> reporter: dr. sanjay gupta, cnn. thanks for starting your morning with us. we have much more ahead on "cnn sunday morning" which starts right now.